Today, on my last infusion day, I’ve decided to keep a play-by-play of the day. Here goes. 5:00am – Woke up with enough time to get outside. Got up, brushed teeth, bundled up (45 degrees out there, and damp from recent rains), remembered to get a ratty towel from the linen closet. Headed out for… Continue reading A Day In The Life
Today the log sheets came back out, and the hated Decadron has started, for the last time. On Tuesday I will have my sixth and final chemo infusion. This is certainly a cause for celebration, and I’m doing my best to look forward to it. But of course, the infusion day is the start of the… Continue reading The Beginning of the End
At my very first visit with Dr. Cancer, she told me that of all the potential lifestyle factors that cause cancer (besides the big ones like smoking and maintaining a healthy weight), there is good evidence that drinking alcohol is one of them. Even the standard recommendation of one drink per day is too high. Certainly I… Continue reading A Toast to Thanksgiving
Since I’m between projects at work, and am spending a lot of time at home, I’ve been using my free time (when I’m not napping) to go through boxes of memorabilia from years past. One of the many boxes sitting on a shelf in my cluttered memory-filled closet was from our Team Teddy endeavors. Back… Continue reading Team Teddy, Fundraising, and Pinkwashing
Quick housekeeping update: I’ve noticed that my Perk-o-Meter page had gotten pretty long, so I’ve added an Executive Summary. Now when I find someone I have not told about my fun new hobby, they can get the quick & dirty without slogging through the whole page. You’re welcome. Here’s the ES as of today, but… Continue reading Executive Summary
I have had a bit of trouble finding outfits to go with my French-ish black beret, other than this one. I thought this ensemble worked pretty well, with a blue top and black culottes. I do commit fashion blog sacrilege here by not bothering with “real” shoes – after all, this is San Diego. I… Continue reading Black Beret
I’ve decided it’s time for a bitch fest blog posting – it’s my blog and I can bitch if I want to. In the interest of posterity, here is a listing of all the chemo side effects I’m experiencing, in case I look back on this someday and say, “gee, that wasn’t so bad.” Listing… Continue reading An Inventory of Side Effects
Popular culture seems to really be speaking to me lately. I would have posted this yesterday but the rad onc news was too exciting. I can sure as heck empathize with John Oliver’s take on this shitty year – add a frame at the end of this that says, “Oh yeah, and Erika got fucking CANCER.… Continue reading Fuck You, 2016
Omgomgimsoexcitedimsoexcited!!!! I have my first radiation oncology appointment scheduled! Ok I know that’s a really weird thing to get super excited about, but remember who we’re talking about here – ME. And I get excited when things get put on the calendar. It makes them real! Having an appointment scheduled with Dr. Zap means that… Continue reading I HAVE A RAD-ONC APPOINTMENT!!!
Between bald women on SNL, election day, and infusion #5, I have not had a chance to post this little side story about my hand. Yes, my hand; if it’s not one thing it’s another. If you’ll recall, during my mastectomy, I had a sentinel lymph node biopsy done on my right side. They removed… Continue reading So here’s a long story
Project Perky 